Misbehaving Students are Discouraged

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Misbehaving Students are Discouraged. These students need your help, not your disapproval. They don't believe they can get their needs met through normal channels so they act out.

All behavior is goal directed. Misbehavior usually has three goals: attention, power and revenge. Children are normally not aware of the goals of their behavior. A child does not misbehave unless he or she feels their worthiness or place in the group is challenged.

The root of all behavior is belonging. Children who feel they don't belong will either act to convince themselves and others that they don't want to belong or act in ways they think will earn them a place in the group. It often works to give misbehaving children jobs of importance. This avoids much of the disruption these kids normally cause. Possible jobs are roll call, lunch count, passing out papers, supplies or books, teaching a lesson, calling out the answers when checking homework or ungraded tests, checking homework (this is really good-it keeps them busy for awhile), running errands, helping other students. By observing your students, you'll learn to quickly spot potential problems and head them off.

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You can find many more tips in the book: Good Parent Sense